Just in time

I put a spare hive in the back of Degsy just in case it was needed at the apiary. Just as well! As I pulled up at the apiary I could here the bees buzzing. When I came to the gate the air space in front of hive was full of bees. I went back to Degsy and got the hive out. I set it up on the other stilage. Having smoked the bees I dismantled the hive. The bees had been busy. The feeder was empty. The two supers were a less than half full which is an improvement on two weeks ago. As I opened the brood box I was surprised at what the girls had done. The top brood chamber which I put on two weeks ago with eleven frames of foundation was being drawn out to comb. This all the more impressive since a frame of foundation takes a couple of pounds of honey to produce. Given the girls had drawn four frames, some brace comb and put away honey into the supers and the Queen had laid eggs in the newly drawn comb in the past few days. The bees must have been as busy as.........well................bees.

Checking the bottom brood box I found a sealed Queen cell. That was lucky timing. I am sure the bees were about to swarm. I found the Queen after several passes through the frames. Having isolated her I reserved a couple frames including the one with queen cell and put them into the new hive. I then did a shook swarm. All the flying bees went back to the original hive, all the non-flying bees are in the new hive. I put in a few extra frames of foundation into the old hive to make it more spacious. In the hope the queen thinks she was completed her swarming duties.

Follow this LINK to YouTube for a short movie of the last of the bees moving into their new residence. At the end of clip you will see the bees fanning and exposing their Nasonov glands to release an orienting pheromone to draw the bees "home".

It was a bit a strain but it pays to be calm and move smoothly and steadily, a bit like Tai Chi except with frames of bees. Keeping calm stops you heating up and sweating and blokes, of course give off blokey smells which bees pick up on. All in all rushing is not helpful. The bees where quite docile. Just as well really because my smoker went off and I am a bit out of practise at manipulating 30 odd frames and keeping a eye on where the queen is. When the hives were all put all back together the hive settled down quickly. By the time I finished packing Degsy and settling my mind that I had done the right things in the right order calm was restored to all of us in the meadow. The new flight board worked well. I am hoping that I now have two colonies and that both consider swarming is done for the year. There is the old rhyme:

A swarm in May — is worth a load of hay.
A swarm in June — is worth a silver spoon.
A swarm in July — isn't worth a fly.

I came away resolving to come back tomorrow to check on the hives.